A couple of months ago I wrote this post on performance-based pay. Like many (at least on the outside of government looking in), this proposed change seemed like a no-brainer.

Most of us on the private-sector side are highly accustomed to working within performance-based systems and can't really imagine life any other way. And after working with so many stellar federal employees, it's hard not to feel the unfairness of the traditional General Schedule (GS) approach and want something better for them. Well, it turns out that many see needed improvements in the current system but a bold move towards performance-based pay ain't it.

In fact, there are some real concerns about performance-based pay systems (within the federal environment)-- specifically around how they're implemented and executed. Jeff Neal outlines a number of issues in his interview with Federal News Radio and this related blog post.

I've had the pleasure of chatting with Jeff on this topic and can honestly say I learned something. Jeff is a true guru on federal HR stuff. Not only does he make a lot of sense, he's pretty funny too-- a killer (but rare?) combo. Check out more of Jeff's work on his blog at ChiefHRO.com.